The Cafe at National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield

Lovely day out with my little lad and wife, the underground tour is very well planned out, tour guide ade was friendly, humorous and very knowledgeable! Shame the cafe was closed with no explanation as to why and the toilet could have been cleaner, great outdoor play area and nice little shop! pit ponies were also friendly to stroke. Overall would definitely recommend for a blast to the past!

Fantastic place to visit, we had an underground tour guide called Russ, and he was brilliant, so knowledgeable, and engaged really well with his client group. If you enjoy social history or industrial history, then this is a MUST VISIT place. There is plenty to do across a wide age range.

Brilliant visit, especially down into the pit. It is so interesting to see where and how our ancestors worked. My mum is disabled and she was treated with dignity and kindness and when the battery ran out on the little train after being over to see the pit ponies, a transport was organised back to the main site no issues. Thanks to everyone.

Had a wonderful day here. We went on the underground tour, our guide Rus was superb, humorous as well as informative. Lots to do overground aswell, inside and out. Don't miss it, especially if you have relatives that worked in the mines.

Very informative and a moving experience

What an interesting and fascinating day! The highlight was the visit to the mine itself. You really got a sense of what it was like working underground. Our guide, an ex-miner, was extremely knowledgeable and gave us some interesting insights

Amazing experience, all the staff are so lovely and knowledgeable, my son (and us) enjoyed our tour with Ade, really good value at £7.50 as it's an hour and 20 mins long, no charge for all the museum bits, the playground or nature walk, well definitely come back!

definitely recommended! Get you a point a view what mean hard work.

Coming from a mining family I was excited for this visit. We had the underground tour and booked in advance and wow we loved it. Martin our guide was so informative and brilliant with the children. You get to see and hear about the history of the coal mines up to the time of closures. I already knew it was extremely hard work but got to see how children and adults a like worked in extreme hardship. Well worth a visit for all the family. Come along and support these guys. Many thanks to you all especially Martin

Great experience- staff are knowledgeable, helpful and very friendly If you have coal mines Iinks or ancestry, this is a must visit place

What a wonderful place! We were up from London to watch Orient play Huddersfield, and we booked an Underground Tour here in the morning. I can't remember our guide's name but he was a Barnsley fan, and he was brilliant throughout. He has a really thick accent (they laughed on the way in when they heard we were from London - "these boys need Google Translate lads!") so we didn't catch everything he said, but he was interesting, funny and really engaging with everyone. They are all ex-miners so they talk with knowledge and passion, and their tales are so interesting. Everyone at the museum is welcoming and cheerful, and the kids and I had a really amazing time throughout. If you are in the area make sure you book the tour - there won't be many better historical experiences in the country!!

Brilliant experience with an excellent guide!

Absolutely fabulous tour around the museum. I've been down before decades ago & it's expanded & improved so much. The tour guide Ian was informative & funny. Great experience..

Totally amazing place to visit. Went down a 140 meters down a coal mine, brilliant experience. Great admission cost. Highly recommended.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the team at the National Coal Mining Museum and especially to Ian who was our guide on the underground tour. He was extremely knowledgeable and funny. My two boys (6&9) had a fantastic day out!

Fabulous. Very interesting and informative. Excellent tour from Alan!

Biker Joe was our tour guide (Corey & Keith) thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. We had a great experience.

As an ex miner we took the grandkids. They had a fantastic time. Joe the guide was excellent.

Great place to visit, spend almost 4h walking around the whole grounds. Unfortunately couldn’t complete the underground tour as our 6 year old had a slight meltdown on the way down and didn’t like being in confined space but the crew there were brilliant and got us out of there asap, so thank you so much for looking after our boy !

Great family day out Gaz was really informative and great with my 6 year old Spencer He has gone home full of facts and information

Took the underground tour today with Ian Joe. Excellent tour showing progression of mining with a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide

Fantastic experience, a warm welcome on arrival by carpark staff and reception. Fascinating for children to explore Dad and Grandads work life conditions, being an ex miner it refreshed my memories of the working conditions we put up with. We also had a grand tour with 1 of the tour guides Martin who made the journey entertaining for our group sharing his knowledge and tales.

Informative and fun family day out. Very reasonably priced.

All staff were amazing, very clean all staff helpful and really good with the kids. My little boy was so nervous at first but the miner who did our tour was fantastic with him all the way round. Would definitely come back.

Not been here for 30 years and absolutely loved it...went down the pit and had Martin has our guide and he was brilliant, brilliant with the kids made it interesting for all. After that we went in the time tunnel were the guide was brilliant also. Great day out for adults and kids, all staff pleasant, all tour guides amazing. Thankyou

Wot a great day out love it Garry our pit tour guide was mint and a great singer too we will be back 8

Mine tour is fantastic, great place to spend a day with something for all ages

Sad to see the terrible conditions the miners and their families had to endure to keep body and soul together. Nonetheless, it is important to educate those who are ignorant of the reality of life in the world of heavy industry. The staff at this museum are 5⭐

Just bin darn pit, and I really enjoyed the experience. Well worth a visit, as the curators are ex-pit lads and lasses, and they talk from both experience and expert knowledge.

Brilliant place, there is a museum, cafe, play park, train ride, ponies, gift shop, picnic area and the mining tour is fantastic! Very interesting. Would definitely recommend

Visited for the first time with grandchildren. All the volunteers were friendly and helpful. We found it very informative.looking around the exhibits. Great adventure play area to let the kids run off some steam. Went on the train to see the horses, which they helped to feed. A great day, we will be back to do the underground tour now it is open again.

Went years ago with our daughter and been back today and it’s just as fabulous as it’s always been. The key to the success of this place is the staff/volunteers, they are all so knowledgeable and happy to share this with you. The underground tour is certainly a highlight, and Mick today was a perfect host down to the 140m underground, he ensured the kids in particular got the best experience and involved them each step of the way. It’s a truly special place and all schools should visit here as part of learning the history of coal mining. 5 stars and above !

Really easy to park. As we’d done the underground tour before we visited the time tunnel. Really informative guide who involved the children. Well presented information and easily accessible. The only downside of the visit was lack of refreshments. Cafe closed and only vendors selling hot drinks and pop and another with hot dog. Really cold day so could have done with more hot food choices.

Brilliant day, loads to do and picnic area too going down the mine was great and Gaz our guide was brilliant he made it fun, he was very knowledgeable and even told us about his own experiences. He was very passionate Great at his job. All the staff we encountered were very friendly. Would definitely visit again and would recommend visiting

Wasn't sure what to expect but done the underground tour and it was amazing and staff were excellent and very knowledgeable.Would definitely recommend my only issue was can't see it all and take it all in on one day so most definitely going back.Well done to all staff you are a credit to the museum 👍

Hugely interesting place, great industrial history that was very well displayed. Equally interesting for adults and children!

This place was absolutely amazing and definitely worth a visit. Make sure you go down the mine too as you'll loads. Also as the place is massive, give yourself at least 4 or 5hrs to have a proper look round. The history unreal.

Cafe closed, looks as if closed for good , still advertised as open on all on line info , a coffee van with 30 minutes wait outside, and expensive limited sandwiches in shop

Arrived at 9.30, many topside attractions were not open until 11.30. Cafe not open. Underground tour was very good because of Biker Joe our guide. Having been on the tour a few times through the years I was disappointed with the speed of the tour, too fast, no time for many questions, and not having the taste of pitch black when the lights were turned off. This I think was by having tour groups being only 10 minutes apart instead of the 15 minutes as they used to be. Apparently the demonstrations underground only happened in summer, why? It's no different underground whatever the weather above ground. All the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Had a tour today with "Biker Joe" top bloke very knowledgeable and good laugh, great with the kids absolute credit to the museum 👏 love the place been several times and will visit again no doubt, Grimey family 😉

Very interesting. People who put a lot of heart and soul into serving their visitors

The underground tour was excellent and well worth the money. I also enjoyed walking the nature trail. Just a warning: it may be that not everything advertised is open on the day you visit. When I went the train wasn't running and the cafe was closed. Still had a good day though.

The above-ground exhibition is recommended... Unfortunately, the underground tour as a highlight was not possible

Came while the underground tour wasn't available due to renovation/improvements. However the behind the scenes tour and the time tunnel were excellent. Guides for both were experienced miners and had good stories and knowledge to impart. I would definitely recommend the behind the scenes tour for their input

We meet here nearly every Sunday. It would be better if the cafe was re-opened.

Such a great museum, so many fun activities to get involved with over the year and all staff and volunteers are so friendly

Lot's to do and see We did the time tunnel and found it very informative The staff were very helpful The weather was freezing but we still had a good time It was sheltered on the nature walk which we enjoyed A good visit into our past Thank you

The Time Tunnel at the museum relates the history of mining. Staffed by ex-miners, the history is very interesting and informative. The museum is free, but there's a small charge for the Time Tunnel which goes to the museum's upkeep. The main building details the hardships endured during the Miner's Strike of the mid 80s. Lovely play area for the little ones to let off steam. A really enjoyable day out.

Went on Saturday 8th March 2025 for a guided tour of the water treatment works, where iron-bearing ochre is removed from orange mine water from up to six miles around. We were then treated to a presentation by artist Louise Ann Wright, who uses the powdered ochre to create painting materials for her work. Two very well presented and captivating events rolled into one. I’ve visited the museum a good number of times in the past when my daughter was growing up, and every visit has been an absolute pleasure. A very well run site staffed by enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff.

Absolutely loved our visit here today, not our first time as we all love it here. Great information and exhibitions. The staff are what makes this place and really being that era to life, explaining detailed knowledge of mining in it's entirety. The staff are a real credit to this whole place. We always put donations in as we want this place to keep going forever! Thanks again for a great day out!

All great, just need to sort exit signs out..

Rob was a great tour guide for the Time Tunnel, well worth a visit, definitely coming back in April when the underground tour is open

Huge shoutout to Biker Joe—he was absolutely lovely and reminded me so much of my grandad (he was an old school miner with a really unique sense of humour) The experience was so authentic but eye-opening at the same time, and having such a genuine and relatable guide made it even more special. Thank you. It’s an experience I’ll never forget:-)

Visited with our toddler today, great informative exhibitions and the park, train and woodland walk were brilliant. Something for all ages. Really friendly staff. Will definitely visit again! The only downside was the cafe is currently closed, so the only choice was a toasted sandwich van outside. A cafe serving hot food or sandwiches would be ideal.

A really good cheap day out.really interesting.

Many people across the UK have miners in their family history, recent or otherwise. This museum shows the good and bad sides of the industry- camaraderie and community to disasters and conditions of the work. The volunteers there are very friendly and knowledgeable, worth a chat. The Memorial is very moving. A must visit museum.

The volunteers really know their stuff, very entertaning will go back when the main pit has reopened

Great staff who were so friendly and helpful. Would definitely return!

Visited to do the STEAM club experiments with Victoria. Had an amazing time doing First Aid and making antiseptic ointment. Can't wait till the next one. Thanks for making it inclusive John

Had a great trip to the national coal mining museum. Unfortunately the mine tour was closed for maintenance but the alternative tunnel tour was good. Kids enjoyed the park and the horses. 5 stars, will visit again.

A brilliant place to go, I rememeber going on school trips here, it was always informative and exciting.

A really crucial, important part of the UK's heritage that is often overlooked, the NCMM is a huge boon in that sense- the site has a number of former miners who work as guides around the entire (massive!) colliery site - a really wonderful mixture of industrial heritage and some nice green and blue spaces that are great to wander around - probably even nicer when it's not a foggy, freezing cold morning!

It was a great experience and the staff were brilliant The man who brought us down the cave was nice and also very funny

Seven adult friends spent a whole day at this fascinating former colliery. First of all we looked round the site, including visiting the ponies and nature trail. Then we did the informative and interesting Time Tunnel tour, which gave a great insight into coal mining and how it changed between 1842 and the early 1980s. After lunch (thankfully we'd taken our own, as the café was closed down), we looked around the exhibitions, in which such coalminer qualities as camaraderie, spirit, loyalty, courage, teamwork and humour were emphasised. We then did the Capstone Colliery surface (i.e. not underground) tour. Both tours were led by former miners, who really brought the colliery to life by sharing their memories, experiences and stories. Every former miner I spoke to said he missed being a miner, particularly the camaraderie, and all of them demonstrated a real sense of humour. All the staff and volunteers were welcoming and knowledgeable. This visitor attraction was busy when we arrived and is really missing a trick by not having a modern café with high-quality hot drinks and food (e.g. homemade or homemade style - i.e. not manufactured - cakes with barista coffees). I hope they decide to reform the former café and reopen it. Coal mining is an important part of this country's heritage and it's great that this museum is there as a reminder of just how tough, but also rewarding through the camaraderie and community, life as a miner used to be. Highly recommended.

Sadly, the museum has taken a big step backwards. The play area for very young children, which was located near reception, has been dismantled. There is nothing to replace it. We have visited with our youngest grandchildren regularly for a period approaching 10 years, but now there is nothing for them. It was a wonderful area that stimulated imaginative play, and we met many who had travelled many miles (from as far away as Chesterfield) with their children or grandchildren. Added to that the cafe is now closed so our visit today with our 4 year old granddaughter was a disappointment. While I appreciate that the play area had little to do with mining or its history, it did spark interest in the museum that stayed with them as they grew older. I think the museum is shooting itself in the foot, as it will most certainly reduce footfall over a longer period. Very disappointing.

Brilliant place for the whole family

Wow! Worth seeing. Even without access to the mines due to works on the winding engine, this museum has much to offer. From the history of coal to the nationalisation of the industry to the strike of 84-85 to the demise of the industry this museum has it all. Excellent exhibits and multimedia features. Fantastic water color gallery by artist Arthur Lockwood. Kind and helpful staff. Put this museum on your list to visit!

Fantastic experience for young & old. The underground tours are taken by ex-miners and their passion for it shines through - this was my 2nd visit and we plan to visit again!

Beautiful scenery, lovely walks,good food,friendly staff,souvenir shop,brilliant museum

Lots to see on surface (though mostly outside so requires warm weather) plus paid-for underground tours lasting around an hour.

Superb tour you won't get more experience than from those who experienced it as a job. Unfortunately like most of "Great Britain" the site may be here for 100s of years but the lads that worked it won't. Go see it whilst you still can before some go woke pencil pushes says it's too dangerous

Had a amazing time here. Definitely recommend the underground tour. The staff are super friendly and very knowledgeable. Our guide was brilliant . Definitely worth a visit

The National Coal Mining Museum is a must-visit! The underground tour, led by former miners, is both fascinating and eye-opening. The exhibits are informative and engaging, offering a deep dive into mining history. Friendly staff, a well-maintained site, and a great café make it an excellent day out for all ages. Highly recommended!

Fabulous place to visit Wish it was open more days! Highly recommended

Cool olace to visit. Lots to learn and do. Small train rides and horses. And the deep mine.

Fab place that highlights our rich cultural history with coal mining. Seeing Santa underground is a different experience and very enjoyable. Highly recommend a visit.

Went for Santa Underground. Brilliant as always, my kids loved it. Going 140 meters underground to see Santa and his elves in his grotto.

We had an awesome experience, Colin was a great guide, knowledgeable and hilarious. I had a panic attack on the lift going down into the pit and when we got to the bottom I told Colin that I didn't think i could go in to the mine...he convinced me to try at least for a little bit and if I still felt anxious he would get me out. Because of his reassuring demeanor and honest manner I was able to go in and after a while let go of most of my anxiety and was able to enjoy the tour with my children. The mine tour itself was really interesting and I formative, and being in yorkshire on holiday, it felt like a necessary experience to understand and honour the work of miners

Santa underground was brilliant, kids loved it

Would highly recommend a visit!! Me & my 8 year old son went on the underground tour & thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! 140 meters underground sounds like alot & it is! But when you are down there, you just forget how deep you are as you are engrossed within the tour. Big shout out to Eric our tour guide underground!! What a knowledgeable & friendly guy he is.. gets everyone involved, even my son lucas & another visitors child, or as he called them "Ant & Dec" 😂👍 great guy! Great time! Tour lasts for around 1hr 15mins with other things to visit surface level. All the staff are great & really friendly so yeah great experience!!

Had a brilliant time ,lots to see and do,took the underground tour with Mick as our guide, what a lovely man ,and so patient with our grandaughter Rose, would definatly recommend a visit .

This was a really good experience, we went in the mine there was a lot to see and the tour guide Mike was excellent host down the mine. We ate lunch in the reasonably stocked/priced cafe and then went on to the winding wheel and again, Alan was a great host and had lots to talk about as his time as a miner and the local area we were visiting. Well done to Mike and Alan We really enjoyed our visit and recommend you do too.

Fantastic museum, knowledgeable staff always friendly. The canaries were nice too!

Fantastic day out for all the family

Took the old man for his birthday. He used to be a miner back in the 70's and seeing his eyes light up was perfect. We took the underground tour which was fantastic. Really sheds a light on the industry. Felt much more connected to my ancestors after seeing what they did to keep the lights on.

Great place. Brilliant for kids.

Great experience! Super interesting, very reasonable and Gaz was a standout guide. Highly recommend :)

Took my girlfriend and it was highly informative and yet fun and enjoyable but it was definitely ment for young kids

Really interesting day out. Grandkids loved going underground.

Told my mum if we could go here because in my test in school one of the main questions was about mines

Really good will be going back great staff and tour guide Colin

We are French and passionate about mining and this museum is surely one of the most complete. It covers all aspects of the mining world (the mine in the daytime, the mine underground, child labor, horse work up to mechanization as well as pollution issues). The immense museum site includes a collection of artifacts complete with usage diagrams and information, as well as a processing station, a real coal mine and a stable. You have to plan the whole day to do everything, which makes it a great playground for everyone. A huge thank you to the work of the volunteers.

The guides made our day, especially the underground trip. Mining is really dangerous and hard work, but those people love their job.

Visited November 24, our underground tour guide Joe the biker had excellent knowledge of the mining industry which he shared in an entertaining and informative manner. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit, we need to support the museum so we preserve the memory of the mining community.

Great guided tour down the mimes. We paid £15 for two of us. Plenty of parking there was also a second tour going round the old shower block which we jumped on the end of. Lots to sonplenty to see.

Fantastic family day out, the tour down the pit was fantastic. Highly recommended!

A lovely park . Lots of things to do

Absolutely brilliant day out. Educational and informative. Highly recommended to all. All the guides were experienced ex pit men, knowledgeable and entertaining, especially our underground guide Mick and Alan in the steam winding engine house. Chatted for ages about life underground.

A very interesting place for the family (including dogs) is free to enter, including parking. You just need to pay if you take the coal mining tour (not for dogs). Cafe on-site.

Absolutely fantastic day out with the kids. The underground tour at 7.50 each was well worth it. Many places charge silly money putting it out of the reach of people. My kids loved it and haven’t stopped talking about their day trip for the last few days. Even the Mrs who was apprehensive about going down the mine loved it. Hope this place never changes. Thank you for an amazing day out